Chapter 57 : Blade Teeth (2)

Creak!

The Second Elder came out as the door of the mountain shrine opened.

The mountain shrine was a bit spacious if two people sat, but it was too narrow for three people to sit.

Five people had entered and sat there.

The Drunken Flower Garden master and the four elders sat in the mountain shrine and practiced energy circulation and breath regulation. When the four elders practiced energy circulation, the garden master would touch their Mingmen points and check the flow of their meridians.

She was formally passing on the Fall of Life and Death.

Originally, the Fall of Life and Death was a secret, hidden technique of the Drunken Flower Garden that only the garden master could train in. It was passed down from garden master to garden master. On the day the garden master’s inauguration ceremony was over, the Fall of Life and Death was passed on as the final ritual.

But two variables had arisen.

The first was the fact that the twelfth Drunken Flower Garden master, Mongseol, had not professionally trained in the Dark Shadow Sword.

The Fall of Life and Death was a stage where you crossed the final hurdle after training in the Dark Shadow Sword to its peak. If you did not train in the Dark Shadow Sword to its peak, you could not taste the Fall of Life and Death.

She had become unable to pass on the Fall of Life and Death.

The second was that Mongseol had trained in the Blood Sword Sutra. There was no reason at all to train in the Fall of Life and Death.

Here, the Drunken Flower Garden master had made a big decision.

She had made the groundbreaking decision to pass on the Fall of Life and Death to all the remaining disciples.

The elders had trained in the Dark Shadow Sword to almost the peak level. So she would pass it on to the elders first.

The twelve assassins did not yet know the peak of the Dark Shadow Sword. So the elders would pass it on later. For now, at least the elders would train first so that power could be gathered to Mongseol.

No one objected to this decision.

The transmission of the martial art proceeded quickly.

The elders absorbed the Fall of Life and Death as quickly as ink seeping into a practice paper.

First, they learned the energy circulation, memorized the sword formula, and executed the sword forms. The training of the sword forms was not a matter that could be finished in a day or two, but a day was enough to memorize the energy circulation and the sword formula.

“Are you finished?”

Mongseol asked the Second Elder who was coming out of the mountain shrine door.

“Please lower your speech.”

The Second Elder said with a deliberately stern expression.

“When we’re among ourselves, let’s just be as we were before. It’s awkward for me when you, my martial aunt, are like this.”

“No. No one in the Drunken Flower Garden can sit next to the Garden Master. Everyone is under the Garden Master. Please lower your speech.”

“Alright.”

“Again!”

“…Alright.”

“Good. Do that.”

“Is it all over?”

Mongseol followed the Second Elder’s words and spoke informally.

It was very awkward to speak. It was as bitter as chewing on sand to speak informally to her martial aunt.

“It’s over. Everyone will be out soon.”

“What about the Garden Master?”

“You should say the former Garden Master.”

“Why isn’t the former Garden Master coming out…?”

“She has gone.”

“Gone?”

“She said that if we faced each other, the words would only get longer… she slipped out through a crack in the wall.”

“Ah! I should have at least said goodbye…”

Mongseol was quite sad. She had known that the garden master would leave, but she had not known that she would go without even a goodbye.

She stared blankly at the path the garden master would have walked.

* * *

Ah Geol stayed alone, away from the Drunken Flower Garden assassins.

He didn’t go far, just kept a distance where he could see them. He was burdened by being mixed with women.

Only until he thought it was safe.

Ah Geol didn’t want the Drunken Flower Garden assassins to be caught up in his fight. He didn’t want it. So he was thinking of dropping them as soon as possible. But he couldn’t just leave the Drunken Flower Garden assassins either. Because he had already found out that there were people aiming for them.

Mongseol came and sat next to Ah Geol, who was lying down.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“When did you know that I was your fiancée?”

“Long ago.”

“I thought so. You must have known since Grandpa put in the request to the Drunken Flower Garden?”

“…”

“Was it also your idea to single me out?”

“No, that was Grandpa’s will. He said we should see each other at least once. And I had to give you the Blood Sword Sutra.”

Mongseol looked at Ah Geol, who was lying with his back to her.

Whether it was on purpose, or his nature, Ah Geol treated her very coldly. He treated her indifferently, as if the fact that they were fiancés had no relation to their relationship.

In fact, she was the same.

She didn’t feel any affection for Ah Geol, nor did he seem endlessly good to her.

The two had met for the first time in the stable.

He had treated her when she was injured, and although the treatment had been quite embarrassing, it was all in the past now.

That was all.

The two did not feel any emotion for each other.

Fiancé? In fact, the word ‘fiancé’ was very strange. She had suddenly heard the word ‘fiancé’… and since her fiancé happened to be the person who had helped her, her curiosity was piqued.

If this were a time of peace, if both of them had no worries or concerns, the word ‘engagement’ might have come with a considerable weight. But both of them could not guarantee tomorrow. It was a situation where it would not be strange if they died right now.

It was a luxury to play with the word ‘engagement’.

“Are you going to keep lying down?”

“…”

“Do you acknowledge that I’m your fiancée?”

“You said the engagement couldn’t be broken, right?”

“So you acknowledge it?”

“…”

Ah Geol was silent.

“Then fulfill your responsibility as a fiancé. You’re my fiancé in name, so you won’t watch your fiancée die, right?”

“What should I do for you?”

“I have something in mind… but I’ll think about it for one more day.”

Mongseol stood up.

Ah Geol closed his eyes tightly and listened to the sound of her footsteps as she walked away.

Fulfill your responsibility as a fiancé.

Although it was said indifferently, it was a truly difficult thing to say.

She had not asked for help even when she had been beaten to a pulp by the Living Sword Sect disciples.

Her pride was that strong.

If the Drunken Flower Garden assassins had not been there, if she had been all alone, would she have said the same thing now?

She was thinking of the sixteen lives.

“Hmph!”

Ah Geol let out a smirk.

In Mongseol’s appearance, he saw the appearance of his master’s wife. He also sometimes saw the appearance of his master.

It seemed that Mongseol did not remember her parents.

But Ah Geol remembered.

From the fact that they had saved him to the scene of their passing, he had seen it clearly with his eyes wide open.

Did she say that Mongseol’s mission was to run away well?

It was a truly interesting mission.

He also had three missions.

The first was to punish the one who had killed his parents and brothers, an enemy with whom he could not live under the same sky.

He had to do it no matter what.

The second was to punish the one who had harmed his master and his master’s wife, the reverse blade.

It was a heavenly mandate that he had to fulfill even if he died and was reincarnated ten times.

The third was to protect Mongseol.

Just as his master had protected him, he would also protect his master’s bloodline.

There was no priority among these three.

He had to achieve all three together. If he had to sacrifice one to achieve the other two, he would give up all three. In the end, it meant that he would not give up any of the three.

So, there was no hesitation or reluctance in listening to Mongseol’s words.

‘Where should I take her?’

Ah Geol closed his eyes and thought of a quiet and secret place.

A place where his senior brothers’ hands could not reach, a place where the Sacred Sword Sect’s influence could not reach, a place where he could stretch out his two legs and sleep for even a day, a place where he could forget that he was being chased.

There was none. He thought and thought, but such a place did not come to mind.

‘Where should I take her? Would Grandpa have had a way?’

Ah Geol could not fall asleep easily and tossed and turned.

* * *

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

A rooster crowed in the distance.

‘The day has broken.’

Ah Geol frowned slightly.

He had been thinking about a safe place for a little longer, but he had ended up staying up all night.

Ah Geol sat up.

It didn’t seem that he would be able to sleep even if he lay down any longer.

It seemed that Mongseol had also spent the night with her eyes open. She was sitting with her back against a tree and looking at him.

Ah Geol pretended not to see and turned his eyes slightly.

Mongseol was his master’s bloodline and a woman like a younger sister, but she was also a strange woman. And Ah Geol had no experience of living with a woman. There had always been only Grandpa by his side.

It was awkward to live with a woman.

Sapak! Sapak!

She walked, stepping on the morning dew.

Ah Geol pretended not to hear and folded the blanket and stuffed it into his bag.

“Kill someone for me.”

She said abruptly.

Ah Geol turned his head and looked at her.

She was a Drunken Flower Garden assassin. No, she was the Drunken Flower Garden master. If it was about killing someone, she was the expert.

Mongseol said again, “Seamlessly. Without a trace. Without a mouse or a bird knowing.”

“Alright. I’ll do that.”

Ah Geol answered.

“You’re not going to ask who I want you to kill?”

“Who should I kill?”

Mongseol, as if she had written it down last night, took out a piece of paper from her bosom and gently placed it in his hand.

“It’s the place where the person to be killed is staying. Kill the person there. For your information, it’s not easy to get there. It’s possible if you just charge in, but that’s not what I want.”

“I know what you mean.”

“Shall I say one more thing? There’s no one among us who can do this. Even if the Garden Master were here, it wouldn’t work. That’s why I’m asking you.”

“It’s a difficult task.”

“It’s difficult. It’s difficult just to kill, but it’s even more difficult to kill seamlessly, without a trace.”

Ah Geol unfolded the paper and read the words.

- Sangryang Mountain, Fifth Valley, Toad Rock

It was a place name.

The fifth valley of Sangryang Mountain, Toad Rock.

If you went to this place, someone would be there. It was an order to kill that person seamlessly.

It didn’t seem very difficult.

After thinking for a moment, Ah Geol opened his mouth.

“Can’t you tell me who it is?”

“You wouldn’t know even if I told you. It’s a person who doesn’t exist in this world. But it would be better to tell you, right?”

Mongseol’s eyes sparkled.

Mongseol took Ah Geol’s hand and unfolded his palm. And she began to write on his palm.

- Ghost Gate Master Ma Guyeong.

The name of the Ghost Gate Master, who formed the two great assassin veins along with the Drunken Flower Garden, was written.

“Why this person?”

“Just kill him. But… I’m asking just in case… do you remember your master’s and your master’s wife’s faces?”

Ah Geol stared intently at Mongseol.

Although Mongseol was speaking indifferently, her eyes were trembling. Even the corners of her mouth were trembling.

Ah Geol said, “No. I don’t remember. It was when I was so young. So I was going to pretend not to know, but Grandpa caused a scene.”

“I see. Alright. Just kill him. I’ll consider that as fulfilling your responsibility as a fiancé.”

Mongseol smiled brightly and turned around.

(End of Chapter)